All is Fair in Love and War
by theoneandonlylaw
Summary: What if Sean never came back when he left after the shooting, and Emma's life took a darker turn. When they finally meet again after so long, in the middle of a war, will they still have that same spark, or will her past be too much for him to come to terms with. This will be a Semma fix, with a strong Jemna friendship. extremely non canon.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is a way out of cannon fic. The end game is of cpurse going to be Semma, but we have to establish where our babies are now in their life. its a little more dark, and twisted the further in we are going to get. the story starts in present dayx and will occasionally jump back in the past to give you a view of how their story changed. story line will be cannon up until the incident with jay at the ravine. there is strong jemma friendship in this, as i always felt they had an interesting chemistry and could see them being good friends. in future chapters there probably wont be an authors note unless i need to adress something that needed to be clarified, or to give trigfer warning. i hope you enjoy this story as much as i am currently while writing it. as always, i do not own these charaters, and no rights to them or degrassi tng.

Chapter 1

Present Day*

Emma used to dream about what her life would look like at the age of 25. In her imaginings, she would be a college grad with a double major in political science, and environmental studies. She would be settled into a great job where she would be protecting and saving the world, one job at a time. She would live in a shiny new house with a beautiful shiny ring on her finger. She would imagine how she would feel coming home from a fulfilling day at work, to be greeted by a springer spaniel named charlie jr, and would go next door to the auto shop she was partial owner of. She could picture it perfectly, her standing in the doorway, absorbing the most beautiful sight imaginable. The love of her life would be totally engrossed in the engine he was elbow deep in, and all of the sudden he would look up, as if he could feel her gaze upon him. Their eyes would meet, and he would give her the most amazing, world shattering, loving, dimpled smile. Reality was so far from that dream, that she seldom thought of it anymore, unless she found herself desperately needing that ray of potential happiness to cling to. It just so happened that this dream what precisely what emma was currently trying to use to distract herself at this very moment, in an attempt to drown out the sounds of gunfire exploding all around her. It wasn't until she heard her best friend shout her name that she was pulled out of her land of fiction, and the reality of the moment came crashing into her.

Emma looked over to where Jay was standing and a knowing smirk appeared on her face. She knew that the next thing to come out of his mouth was going to be a disastrously bad idea, one that would most likely land the two of them in deep shit with their command staff if it went wrong. That always seemed to be the way that this went, although she could admit that with the exception of only a few times, his plans had a way of working out exactly the way they needed it to. When they had both joined up together, it had been both the scariest, and most exciting day of both of their lives. Most people were confused at first glance, wondering how and why two people who look like complete polar opposites could be best friends. But as soon as you saw they way they interacted and looked out for each other, you could see that they were clearly a matching pair. Jay looked on at Emma with a knowing smile. He could always tell when she was thinking about a certain boy from their childhood, no matter how well she thought she was hiding it. She also seemed to get this glow about her, and this sparkle in her eye. It broke his heart knowing that she would never get to have the type of life she had always dreamt about, especially because it was pretty much his fault. How she ever found it in herself to forgive him for the crimes of his past, he couldn't fathom. But he couldn't imagine his life without his stubborn, smart mouthed, best friend. "So here's what I think we should do," Jay stated, and began to explain his plan to Emma.

They were currently on what was supposed to be a quick reconnaissance mission, when their front men in their squad wandered into a fire fight with the locals. Emma usually stayed back on these types of missions, where action wasn't anticipated. This was mostly because she was their medic, and it was easier to have her a safe distance behind, in an easy to locate position should anything happen,but it also had to do with a recently healed injury from a previous mission gone bad. And of course, wherever Emma was, Jay was also to be found. As much as he sometimes felt bad for leaving the other guys behind, he knew he would be distracted worrying about her, if he didn't stay with her. Jay still had nightmares about the way she had come back from that massive failure of a job. Never again would he let anything like that happen to her. He had enough sins in this life to atone for without adding letting something more happen to her on the list.

Jay and Emma first met at Degrassi Day School. Back then she was this know it all, holier than thou, princess. Or so he had thought. Jay was a good for nothing punk, with a bad reputation and an even worse temper, at least that was what Emma had originally thought. They almost instantly hated each other. In fact some might have even went as far as to call them mortal enemies. It was sometimes unimaginable how these two people who used to hate each other with such passion, were now closer than family. They had been with each other through so much, and seen both the highest highs, and lowest lows since becoming friends. And now, here they were, living and working together, and no foreseeable plans for that to change. Jay and Emma both decided to enlist in the military 5 years ago, after a not to be spoken of incident at the school that left Emma being expelled. Jay was already in that boat, and when they were approached by a recruiter while they were loitering around the mall in the middle of the day, they realized that while they may not be able to have the futures they had once dreamt of for themselves, they could still have a future. And so together, they signed a 6 year contract with the armed forces, and found themselves being whisked away to adventures unknown. Much to Emma's surprise, she took fairly well to the military lifestyle. Never could her younger self have imagined her actually enjoying this type of work, but it suited her more than she could have anticipated.

After basic, she was slated to go to combat medic training, while Jay was sent off to train to be a weapons expert. Those 12 lonely weeks were the only time in the last 5 years that they were separated. A part of their deal when they joined was that they were to do a buddy enlistment, meaning that they would be together for all duty stations and deployments. It was a tactic they employed when enlistment numbers were low, and they didn't have enough personnel to fill the needs they presently had. Usually the commanders, and senior leadership were not big fans of getting a pair, as they tended to be a pain in their assess, and usually one of the two got tired of the other, and the paperwork alone to change their contracts was more headache than it was worth. However, the commander of the fighter squadron they were assigned to, realized just how lucky he was to have them. Never before had he seen a pair work so effortlessly together, and almost always coming back with a positive report. Not only that, but they made their squad better. While Emma often pushed the rest of them to be the best they could, even if they never before realized how much they had to offer, Jay taught them how to relax and let the small stuff go. Over the years that they have been serving under him, they have had some pretty impressive successes and minimal losses. It was those very two people that the commander had sitting in his office right now, trying not to let them see the smile he was trying to keep contained until this meeting was over. He couldn't count the number of times that he was in this exact situation, attempting to admonish them for their reckless, unauthorized behavior, when it had been that very behavior that had saved not only possible casualties, but also the success of their missions, which directly affected his name and ratings with his superiors. " I'm sure I don't have to tell you exactly how wrong this could have gone if whatever entity that watches over the two of you hadn't been doing its job so damn well." Commander Donaldson said, his voice dry and matter of fact. He paused when his eyes made contact with the thin still healing scars maring Emma's face. In a more gentle tone, he continued on, " that being said, good job out there today. Your quick thinking, and precision is the only reason i am not in a teleconference with the state side command explaining why we had civilian casualties in a country we aren't even supposed to be in." He held their gazes each in turn, making sure they could see the unvoiced thanks he was trying to convey. They both nodded to him in turn, with only the smallest flicker of a grin before schooling their features back into the blank mask that was expected of them. He dismissed the pair with a nod, but stopped them as they reached for the door to his office, " One more thing," the commander said, his voice sounding almost sad to Emma's ears, " everyone else will find out soon enough, but given how closely we have worked together for the past few years, I wanted you two to hear it from me, my application for extension has been denied. I'll be leaving back for the states as soon as this mission paperwork it finished up. Your new commander will be here within the week. I don't know much about him, other than he is young, and fresh, and has moved up through the ranks pretty quickly. He will be looking to prove himself, which means the levels of your missions is sure to raise, and he will probably be running a pretty tight ship, so the shit the two of you do may not be something he is going to look very kindly on, so maybe just watch yalls six, and give the rest of your squad a heads up too, things are probably going to be changing a lot in the coming months." Jay was the first to speak up, as he felt like it was his job to make sure they never went into any situation blind, " what's this prodigal sons name?" he asked with a hint of annoyance making its way into his voice. " His name is Major Cameron, if I remember the personnel file correctly, he's from your neck of the woods, from some place up north called Wasaga Beach". The two other occupants in the room were too stunned to say another word as the news hit them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jay's mind was reeling as he and Emma sat in their bunk room, processing the information that Commander Donaldson had just dropped on them. There was no way this was real. It had to be a coincidence. Some cruel joke being played on them by the universe. There was no fucking way that after so long, and so much work towards healing and forgetting all of the hurt and drama from their pasts that one of the major players from that time in their lives was now going to be here with them. And not just a part of their team, but their boss, their leader. Jay did know what to make of it. Though he would never say it out loud, mainly for Emma's sake, a small part of him was both excited and hopeful to be reunited with someone that he had once thought of as a brother. But he knew it wouldn't be that simple for her. And while he was hurt by his words during that final confrontation that they had all of those years ago, he did miss his friend more than he was willing to admit, even to himself. Jay always had to find that line of what was acceptable when it came to Cameron. As much as he loved the guy, he also saw first hand how thoroughly he destroyed Emma. And there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her from going through that kind of hurt again. Even if it meant missing out on the chance to bond with someone who had such an impact on his younger self. Jay looked over to where Emma was sitting, catatonic on her bed, and his heart cracked a little at the emptiness he saw in her eyes. She hasn't said a word out loud since hearing the news, and he was starting to get more than a little worried about her. He had only ever seen that look in her eyes a handful of times in all his years of knowing her, and the resulting break that almost always followed it scared the shit out of him. Out of his control, his mind began to go back to the first time he had ever seen that look on her face.

*6 Years Ago*

Never in all of his wildest and unimaginable dreams would he have ever thought that Emma Nelson, little miss save the world, would be down at the ravine of her own free will. He had seen her there a few times back when her and Sean were still together, but she usually insisted they leave long before any of the real partying started up. And yet, here she was, sitting on the top of a table with her knees pulled up to her chin, watching all the activity going on around her, not with a look of judgement or disgust, but with wonder and longing. Jay had not seen much of her since their trip to Wasaga to drop Sean off at his parents during the aftermath of the shooting, but he had heard from a few people that she had been skipping class a lot, and hasn't started any new crusades at school since the event. Though he would never admit it to anyone, he felt horrible over the fact that Rick the psycho had pointed a gun at her, and that she had to see him die. While they weren't even friends, him and Spinner were the ones responsible for Rick going off in the first place, and had anything happened to her because of their actions, he wasn't sure how that would have affected him, but he knew it wouldn't have been good. It wasn't until he saw her get up from her spot and make her way to the van with some creep who had walked up to her that he decided it was his job to look out for her. Jay never would have considered her as someone that he cared about, but that the urge to protect her hit him like a ton of bricks. Quickly, making sure that no one saw him following them, he got up and quietly followed them to the secluded van they were wandering towards. It wasn't until Emma's hand was on the door opening it, that he made his move. Emma looked up to see Jay standing there with a menacing look on his face, but she was a little startled when she realized that it wasn't aimed at her, but at the guy who had approached her, and lead her out here. Not really caring who it was at this point, she proceeded to climb into the van, no bothering to look and see which one of the two got in after her. Emma had first started coming to the ravine about a month after the shooting. She was having a hard time sleeping, and one night, she had wandered here when thinking about Sean. At first, she would just sit somewhere secluded and watch the people who came here, and observe. It was interesting how much she hated this place back when Sean would attempt to get her here when they were together, but now, she kind of got the appeal. No one here cared who you were, where you came from, or what you did, as long as you didnt do anything to get the cops here, and the party busted up. It wasn't until recently that she began to speak to the random people who would come up to her to chat, or offer her a beer or some company. Last week was the first time that she accepted an offer to go off to the vans. While she was still somewhat sheltered and naive, she knew exactly what went down in there once a couple climbed there way out of it an hour after they had climbed in. She wasn't sure what made her agree to do some of the things she did in there, other than it was the only time that she could feel anything other than her anger or the hollowness that seemed to follow her around all the time now. It wasn't until the door to the van slammed closed that she looked up to see who it was that had finally joined her. Her and Jay stared at each other for some time, and the building tension in the air had them both on edge.

Jay wasn't sure what to do, did he try lecturing her about how unsafe it was for her to be here, or wait her out and see exactly how far she had slipped down the hole she was digging herself into. Normally he would have found this extremely funny, seeing little miss green peace out here being anything but pure, but something about that thought made him sick to his stomach. She wasn't supposed to be here, she was better than all of them. She was just better. So if she couldn't find her way back from what she had been through, what kind of hope for any type of life did the rest of them have. Finally, Jay spoke up. " So, what exactly are you doing here greenpeace?" He asked. None of the normal malice that was usually present in his voice when he called her that was there. Emma rolled her eyes at him, and made to shove him out of the way and get out of the van. As she reached him, he put a hand out and placed it on her shoulder. Jay moved her so that their eyes met, and spoke softly, as if speaking to a spooked animal. " Just tell me that you are ok, and I will let you out of here, but if you aren't, and you need someone to be here for you while you work through whatever it is that you are going through, then I'm here" The gentleness in his voice, and concern and care shining in his eyes were finally what broke her. One minute she was the picture of cold and closed off, and the next, she was collapsing into him, and breaking into a million little pieces. Jay wasn't sure what to do, so he just held her, and let her cry until she eventually fell asleep. That was the first night in over a month that she didn't wake up with nightmares of gunshots and blood shed.

When Emma woke up several hours later and found herself sleeping on a snoring Jay, she almost bolted. But as she made to move off of him, his arm around her tightened and he sleepily mumbled, " Just give me a few more minutes". Unsure what to do, Emma relaxed back down onto his chest, and attempted to match his slow easy breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. It was eerily silent for a few more minutes before he finally began to speak. " I couldn't sleep very well for a few weeks after it all happened" he admitted softly. " I kept seeing the tar and feathers falling on him over and over again, and usually when he started shooting everyone in sight, I would wake up in a cold sweat." Emma wasn't sure that to make of that information, so she let him continue to talk while she gathered her thoughts. " Sometimes, it would be Sean, other times it would be Alex or Spinner, but the worst ones were the ones where he shot you. I know we have never been very close, mainly because, Let's face it, I'm an ass. But the thought of him doing that to you, and knowing it was my fault, it did something to me. " Emma, feeling the sincerity of his words decided maybe, it would be the worst thing in the world to open up to someone, even if it was someone that she had once considered to be one of her greatest enemies. And so she began to tell him all about how her world was crumbling around her. They stayed in that can, both holding onto each other like it was the only lifeline in a turbulent ocean, and an amazing friendship started to form.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Emma knew that she was scaring the shit out of Jay, but she couldn't bring herself to say more than a few words at a time, for fear of breaking down. It had been three long days since Donaldson had unknowingly brought her world crashing down upon her. Three days of pain and imagining every worst case scenario of how this encounter was sure to go. She would gladly go back to that cave, where she had endured the most terrifying pain of her life, rather than attend the mandatory meet and greet with their new commander tomorrow morning. Her squad mates also noticed the change in her demeanor, and while they didn't know any specifics on why their new commander had their girl all stressed out, they all decided that they didn't like the guy. It didn't matter that they had never met him. Anyone who upset their doc, who was known for liking everyone, had to be absolute trash in their book. Jay had spoken to all of them, and without giving too many details, had asked them all to keep an extra close eye on her. Specifically, making sure she was eating, and not disappearing for long periods of time by herself.

At first, Emma was pissed at Jay for bringing them into this, and for treating her like this fragile damsel in distress who needed others to take care of her. But she decided to let it go. She knew he was being overprotective because he loved her, and did not like to see her hurt, or in pain. He had done the same thing after they found her in that cave, bleeding and barely breathing. It took over a month before he would let her out of his sight, bathroom trips included, much to Emma's chagrin. She knew what she had to do. She had too many people who depended on her stability, and calm demeanor to let some guy from back when she was just a kid, cause her to lose the respect and trust she had fought so hard to earn. With a reformed iron will, she went to bed, hoping that tomorrow, she would be a tough as she was telling herself she was.

Jay tossed and turned all damn night. Between his own anxiety, and Emma's loud nightmares, he felt didn't get any rest. At 4am, Jay decided to go for a run to try and get rid of his restlessness. He almost made to wake up Emma and see if she wanted to join him, but decided against it. She seemed to be dreaming about their last mission, and he couldn't stand to talk to her about that. Not this morning, when he was already feeling raw with emotion about the coming event of the morning. Jay felt bad about how much he was mothering and hovering as of late, but he couldn't seem to help it. He knew how strong and tough she was, but he also knew that when it came to Cameron, he seemed to be the person capable of slicing through all of her defenses and striking her directly at her core. He still remembered the day that Bam Bam had fully destroyed her. It had been a few months after Sean had left for Wasaga, and Jay and Emma were working on mending themselves, and building their friendship. Emma was having a hard time at school since the chlamydia rumor hit. Emma never could understand why Jay had taken to fall for that one, as they had never done anything together. She supposed it was better for them to all think it was him, and not let her other activities at the ravine become common knowledge. One night as they were sitting on a picnic table at the ravine, commiserating on their situations, that Jay had the idea. Why not go surprise Sean in Wasaga. He knew Emma missed him, and wanted closure after the way he had said goodbye to everyone else, and just kind of left her standing there. And Jay definitely could use some real advice from the only real friend he ever had. As he was thinking about all of this, Jay got pulled into the memory so deeply that he felt as if he was there, reliving it once again.

*Flashback*

The ride to Wasaga was a quiet one. The pair had decided to skip school, and make the drive down. This way it wouldn't be too late when they got there, and it would give them time to get in a good visit before they had to head back home. Neither one had heard from Sean since they had left him up there, and both were anxious to see him. Emma was hoping that seeing him would help her come to terms with where her life was, and give her some perspective on what to do. Sean always had a way of making Emma feel capable of anything, and she could definitely use that kind of help right now. She was practically a pariah at school, didn't care about her grades or any of the things that she used to care about, and her home life was getting more and more hopeless by the day. It seemed that Snake's cancer wasn't as gone as they had originally hoped, and with Jack now more of a handful than ever, things were looking rough. Snake isn't responding to the chemo this time as much as they were hoping, and it seemed the side effects were hitting him even harder. He has lost a lot of weight, and was looking paler and frailer than Emma could ever remember him looking. He left his teaching position about a month ago, under the guise of wanting to spend more time at home with his small son, but Emma knew the real reason. He seems to think that he isn't going to get better this time. He has lost that spark that made him the fun and goofy guy he once was. As close as she had been getting with Jay, who she now considered to be her best friend, she didn't want to burden him with this. She remembered the toll that Snake's cancer had on her relationships the last time, and did not want to go through that again. Besides, Jay had his own stuff going on, and she didn't want to make his load any heavier. She knew him and Alex were still having problems, and while he did his best to hide it, she saw how much is was affecting him. She only prayed that seeing Sean, would somehow lighten the load, and be the solution she was looking for. Jay really wanted to just relax. While he would never admit it to anyone out loud, he really missed the relationship he had with Cameron. Jay had many acquaintances, but other than Alex, and now Emma, Sean was the only real friend he had ever had. And he could definitely use some male company. It wasn't that he was getting tired of Emma, but between her, and arguing with Alex 24/7, there was just a little too much estrogen in his life at the moment. He also needed advice on what to do about Emma. Despite his best efforts, he was really starting to care about the girl, and he was worried about the path she seemed determined to stay on. While he found her more relaxed ways refreshing, he actually somewhat missed her save the world attitude, and goody two shoes side. Jay had accepted from an early age the type of life he was sure to have, but seeing Emma follow him down that path put a lead weight in his gut. She was meant for more than trouble, partying, and more trouble. He didn't want her to completely lose her new found wild side, he hoped to see the return of some of her more respectable qualities. Even if that meant he might lose her as a friend. Jay was hoping that Cameron would help him figure out how to get her back on that path. Cause lord knows, that girl was too damn stubborn to admit that she needed any help.

It wasn't until they were about 10 mins out, that Jay finally broke the silence. "So, " Jay started with his signature smirk on his face, " I'll consent to you getting the first hug, if we can agree to keep the girly squealing, and crying to a minimum." Emma met his smirk with one of her own. " Deal, as long as you keep your little bromance moments to a minimum as well." she said jokingly. As they pulled into his parent's driveway, their matching smiles grew even bigger. Neither one could anticipate exactly what this visit was too have in store.

Jay was pulled back into the present by the sound of reveille going off on the loud outdoor speakers surrounding the track. He hadn't anticipated running for as long as he did, and as soon as the last note finished, he made a mad dash back to the dorms, to get showered and check on Em. As he pushed to door to their room open, his stomach dropped at the sight of an empty room. Foregoing his much needed shower, he made his way out, in search of the missing girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The whole squadron was standing in formation for the mandatory meeting with their new commander, and Jay still hasn't seen Emma. He frantically searched everywhere for her when he came back from his run and found their dorm room empty. As much as he wanted to keep looking for her, he knew that they would both be in for trouble if at least one of them wasn't present at this ridiculous thing to cover for the other. That didn't mean that he wasn't frantically scanning every person who came through searching for his friend. He was so focused on his search, that when a flash of short brunette hair, came into his peripheral vision, he didn't even think twice about it. He also didn't notice the slight pinch that said person had applied to his side. It wasn't until he heard the tell tale exasperated sign coming from the same area, that he turned his head and actually looked at who had filed into formation next to him. His heart jumped out of his chest. Standing there with a mischief dancing in her eyes, was Emma, but her hair was short. Shorter than he could ever remember her having it, and it was a deep chocolate brown.

Emma couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face. She could practically hear the gears in Jays head grinding, attempting to catch up to what was going on. Deciding to help him along, she began to speak, "What? Does it look that bad?" she asked, doing her best to keep the humor out of her voice. Just as she opened her mouth to explain, a loud voice at the front of the room called everyone to attention. She very quickly shook her head, still seeing the question in Jay's eyes, and mouthed silently "later". Now facing the front, and in the deafening quiet, Emma did her best to maintain a calm facade, and let her eyes drift across the platform in front of them. Though she knew that it was pointless, she couldn't help but hold out a little hope that the Cameron in question was not the same one from her past. She decided this morning, as she was cutting off her hair with a pair of trauma shears, that there was no point in freaking out too much, until she laid eyes on this person and saw for herself if it was really him or not. She still went ahead with changing her hair, as she very well couldn't show up to formation with half cut hair. That would bring more attention to herself, rather than help her blend in, as had been her initial plan. She figured changing her hair, combined with the not so flattering uniform, and the subtle changes to her face as she grew and matured would help her not be as recognizable to someone who hasn't seen her for the better part of 6 years. She was determined to make sure that if the man in question was _her _Sean, then she would never spend enough time around him for him to realize exactly who she was. Better to just ignore him and not let herself think too much about it. All she had to do was finish these last 4 months on this deployment, and she would never have to worry about him again. Just as she was about to let herself relax, still not recognizing any of the men who had gathered in front of the squadron, the last of the ground walked into view. Emma visibly flinched, as if she had been struck in the gut. There he was. Sean Cameron. He was more attractive than she ever could have imagined him. Growing up and the military life had definitely treated him well. He looked even more fit than she thought possible, and his eyes were as clear and beautiful as ever. Even after all of her preparations, and planning, she was taken off guard by how much him being here affected her. Within seconds, she was covered in a cold sweat, and she could hear churning oceans in her ears. Just as she felt like she was about to collapse, a strong gentle hand braced itself across her lower back, and began rubbing small circles in an attempt to ground her. She made the smallest of shift in her body weight into the proffered hand, to let them know that she was good, and that she appreciated the gesture. She knew Jay had been watching her like a hawk, and was glad he was there to make sure she didn't collapse and make a complete fool out of herself.

Sean Cameron was more anxious than he could ever remember being in his life. While he has only been in the service for about 3 years, he has worked his way up the ranks fairly quickly, and still felt like he didn't really deserve to be where he was. He was genuinely surprised every time he came up for a promotion, and he was actually selected for it. And while he had commanded many troops, this was to be his first time commanding in a hostile setting where lives were on the line every day. He wanted to not only make his bosses and mentors proud, but he wanted to be the best leader he could be for his soldiers who have no doubt seen more action than he could ever imagine. He just hoped that they wouldn't be able to sense his fear, and his nerves. The man he replaced had lead the best and most successful squadron, as well as the smallest amount of injuries and deaths than any other deployed unit at this time. It was also a squad known for getting the job done quickly, efficiently, and with astounding amounts of teamwork, and feats of bravery. These were the people he was now facing, and telling that he was now to be their top of chain. He had heard in the chow hall a few days ago when he had been eating, some of the unrest that seemed to be in the squad about their leader leaving and the no good punk who was to replace him. He knew that they had been a very close unit, and hoped that with time, they would come to like and respect him, just as they very clearly did his predecessor. As he was looking over the sea of faces before him, searching for any signs of descent, or hostility, he was caught off guard by one of the only women there. She was tall, and thin, but very obviously was in shape, and had a defined look to her muscles. His eyes couldn't help but to make their way over the curves that he could tell were hiding underneath that unflattering uniform. And while he never broke the fraternization rules, it never hurt to have something nice to fantasize about, especially when you were 1000 miles away from civilization and so few women in sight. What struck him more as he made is way up to her face was both awe, then confusion. She girl appeared to be sick, he could see the color drained out of her face, and for a few short seconds it looked as though she was going to actually pass out. There was a look of both hurt and fear on her face that gave him pause. He only got to see her eyes for a brief second before she had closed them, clearly attempting to pull herself together. But in that short time he saw them, the strangest sense of longing and familiarity overwhelmed him. He attempted to take in her features with more detail, from her short chocolate hair, to the curves of her lips, and while he couldn't shake the feeling that he somehow knew her, nothing came to mind. It wasn't until his second in command motioned to him to begin his briefing that he pulled his eyes away from her, and pushed the whole situation out of his mind. Hour later, as he was sitting in his new quarters, going over the whole thing again in his mind, did something occur to him. Was her reaction, and the way she looked because of him. Did he know her somehow? She did appear fine when he had first came into the room, and a little distracted, and anxious perhaps, but not as stricken as she had been. It hasn't been until he had came into her line of sight that she had began to look ill, and pained. As he got ready for bed that night, he came to a decision about the whole thing. As commander, it is his job to know and build a relationship with all of his troops, and first on his list would be figuring out who that girl had been, and how exactly they might know one another.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sean knew that his first week was going to be busy and stressful, but nothing could have prepared him for the amount of information that was being thrown at him in briefing after briefing. He had already filled up two different notebooks, and was halfway through his third, and he still had one more full day of meetings to get through before he was free to start his normal duties and office hours. In all of the hustle and bustle of the week, he had forgotten all about the brown haired girl who had him so curious and transfixed on his first day. While he knew that much of what he as learning and being informed of was important information, he also felt that half of the material was a repeated version of information he had already been told about. His least favorite part of being an officer was the sheer number of meetings he always seemed to be forced to attend. He had literally went to a meeting about the information they should discuss in a later meeting. He was thankful for his executive assistant. The private they had assigned to him upon his arrival had been his one saving grace. He would often hand him a condensed version of his own noted that included only the information that would be vital to him, and their mission. The man seemed both very knowledgeable and intuitive, and also had a good relationship with a lot of the soldiers under his command. He knew that this would be helpful when it came time to start getting acquainted with all of his people. Having someone close to him that they all trusted and respected would make it easier for him to know how to approach them. By the time all of the meeting were through, and he sat at his desk looking at the stacks of files he still needed to go through before he started assigning tasks and missions in the morning, his brain was completely fried. Pvt. Williams walked in, his arms barely containing all the food he was carrying, and he gave Sean and assessing look. "When was the last time you slept?" He asked, trying not to sound too exasperated with his new commander. Sean looked up from his work, and gave Williams a sheepish thought for a moment before responding, "not since that breakfast meeting, honestly. I have so much to get done, i suppose i simply forgot to grab anything else." It was at that moment that his stomach decided to make a very loud protest at the smell of the food now before him. Williams placed the various food containers on the table in the corner of the office, and sat out two empty plates, giving his commander a sympathetic look. "How about you eat before you collapse, and you can tell me what all you still have left to do, and I can give you a quick rundown so we can both get to bed before sunrise." said Williams in a soft voice. Sean nodded and proceeded to start piling food onto his plate, as Williams took his plate to the overcrowded desk, and began to sort things into piles, and asking various questions. As they discussed the various personnel and what the best use of their skills would be, Sean suddenly remembered the brown haired girl, with the sad eyes. As they were currently talking about the soldiers in his command, he figured that now was as good a time to ask about her as any without raising any red flags. Sean did his best to hide his disappointment when Williams didn't know who she was. There weren't that many women here, but apparently he couldn't think of any with short brown hair.

Emma woke to the sound of a hard knock at her door. As irritated she was at being woken up with the loud banging, she was glad to be done with the dream she had been trapped in. She grabbed a t shirt, and was pulling it over her head as she answered the door. She was a little startled to see Williams standing in her doorway this early, his hand frozen mid air as he was about to knock again. He looked at her in confusion for a full minute before Emma spoke, bringing him out of his trance." Earth to Williams, is there any reason you are banging on my door at 5am?" She said, laughter clear in her voice. He shook his head, blinked a few times, and extended his arm towards here, a folded piece of paper in his hand. She took the proffered letter, and looked back up to him. The dumbfounded look from early no longer contorting his face, but there was something about how he was looking at her that made her uncomfortable. "Was there anything else?" she asked,trying to keep any irritation out of her voice. Williams simply shook his head, and walked away with urgency. Emma shut the door and padded back to her bed. Deciding that she needed 30 more minutes rest before starting her day, she lay back down, deciding that she would read the note when she got up to start her day.

Jay was just finishing up his last rep on the weight machine, when a pale Williams came walking towards him, worry and stress clear on his face and in his posture. Jay wiped at his face, and sat up, bracing for whatever news that Private was carrying. Williams sat on the bench next to Jay, and began to wring his hands, as he spoke."I dropped the squads new orders off with Emma at the dorms a little bit ago,"he started, obviously working through how to say the next 's heart jumped into his chest, the way the other man was acting had Jayon edge about what their next mission would be, to have him acting this nervous. Jay shook his head, doing his best to keep his rising anger and worry in check. "Is the assignment that bad, cause you are kinda freaking me out right now Williams, you look white as a sheet." Jay ground out through gritted shook his head, and opened his mouth to speak. "When did Emma change her hair?" He stared at him in amazement if that was what had the other man so shook up. Jay began to laugh, and gave his worried friend's shoulder a squeeze. "Its been that way for about a week now. You know how women are, they do the weirdest stuff sometimes. I personally liked the blonde a whole lot better, but apparently she really needed a change.I guess the years of dumb blonde jokes finally got to her." Jay said,while standing to grab his gear and head back to his shared room with the girl in question. As he was walking away, Williams spoke once more, his voice uncertain and shaky, " The new commander was asking after her, apparently he noticed her during the welcome brief, and she was asking strange.I told him I didn't know the woman in question, as he described her as a Brunette with short hair. I won't tell him I've figured it out, but just be aware, he is actively looking for her, and I am not sure how long she is going to be able to avoid his notice. Id look at those orders when you get back to the bunk, the two of you, and two more from bravo company are to accompany Major Cameron to the lz tomorrow to help him get the lay of the land." With that, Williams walked away, and Jay quickly made his way back to his rooms. Today was going to be a long day for him. He just hoped that whatever freak out was coming, he would be able to get her out of it before their mission tomorrow. They had a very important meeting to attend, and he was anxious to see how it would all play out.


End file.
